Hong Leong Assurance Collaborates with MyEg to Bring Life Insurance Coverage to Malaysians

Dr Wee Cho Yaw Wins ASEAN Business Awards Legacy Award (Singapore)

Nearly Half of Asia Pacific Manufacturers to Have Smart Factories by 2022

Entrepreneurship May Boost Women’s Participation in Labour Market
Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim (pic) said the increasing number of women entrepreneurs is expected to boost their participation rate in the labour market. She said this was in line with the 11th Malaysia Plan which aimed to increase the labour participation rate from 53.6 per cent last year to 59 per cent by 2020. “I hope that the ‘Empowering the Women’s Economy: Regulators and e-Commerce’ programme organised by the Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC) and Malay Traders and Entrepreneurs Association of Malaysia (Perdasama), will be able to provide a more in-depth understanding of the latest developments in the entrepreneurship industry,” she said. Datuk Seri Rohani said the e-commerce industry was the best platform for women to demonstrate their capability in building a career.

CTOS ConneX launches with Corporate Intelligence for companies
CTOS, Malaysia’s largest credit reporting agency, and Handshakes Technology (M) Sdn Bhd, a corporate intelligence technology provider, have signed a partnership agreement to provide corporate intelligence services to Malaysian companies under the banner of ‘CTOS ConneX’. CTOS ConneX is one of the most powerful analytics tools in Asia, providing a streamlined service for efficient searches of business or person profiles and relationships across various Asian markets. It is a one-stop, central operating analytics platform that maps out all possible and existing connections between companies and persons within the business ecosystem. Companies can sign up for a FREE 7-Day trial anytime from now until 31st October 2017. Whilst the primary function has been for due diligence purposes, current clients have also found the tool to be an important aid in business development, by identifying related potential new clients from their existing client lists, as well as asset recovery for insurance and legal purposes.

Securities Commission cautions investors on digital token based fund raising and investment schemes
Securities Commission Malaysia cautions investors on the emergence of digital token based fundraising activities and investment schemes in Malaysia and elsewhere, which may be referred to as initial coin offerings, initial token offerings, token pre-sale, token crowd-sale (collectively referred to as ICO schemes hereon). ICO scheme operators typically raise funds through the issuance and sale of digital tokens, in exchange for investors paying for these tokens through virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. The SC notes that while all ICO scheme operators seek to raise funds from investors, these schemes can be structured in many forms. The SC added that as the terms and features of ICO schemes may differ in each case, investors who wish to engage or invest in ICO schemes are reminded to seek legal or other professional advice if there are doubts on the legitimacy of these schemes.

Malaysia generates RM12.7b sales from Astana Expo 2017
Malaysia has generated a total of RM12.7 billion in business leads with companies based in the Republic of Kazakhstan, China and Switzerland in the three-months of its participation in Astana Expo 2017. Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili said the total figure from the potential trade and investment was garnered from 14 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed, which were valued at RM5.05 billion as well as business matching sessions that received potential businesses valued at RM7.6 billion. “This surpassed the RM1 billion initial trade and investment target that Malaysia has set for Expo 2017 in Astana. The MoUs cover the areas of green technology cooperation, education, oil and gas, innovation, water and wastewater and entrepreneurship.

Hong Leong Assurance Collaborates with MyEg to Bring Life Insurance Coverage to all Malaysians
Hong Leong Assurance (HLA) has announced a partnership in collaboration with MYE.G. Services Berhad to offer its life insurance products via MyEG’s website. Officially launched at the end of August, HLA is offering the Enhanced Hospital Cash Refund initially, with more products forthcoming. Enhanced Hospital Cash Refund is a hospitalisation income plan that will reduce your financial burden through a daily hospitalisation income benefit that increases annually. Among the special features included with this plan are a doubled payable benefit for overseas hospitalisation, a monthly living allowance upon accidental permanent disability, and a maturity benefit of 70% refund of total premiums paid.

Dr Wee Cho Yaw Wins ASEAN Business Awards Legacy Award (Singapore)
Dr Wee Cho Yaw, Chairman Emeritus and Adviser of United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) was named winner of the ASEAN Business Awards Legacy Award (Singapore). The doyen of Singapore’s business and banking community, Dr Wee has had a long and close association with ASEAN. In 1979, Dr Wee became the first Singaporean to assume the presidency of the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI). He was also the founding Co-Chairman of the ASEAN-Japan Business Council. A firm believer of the business potential of ASEAN, Dr Wee extended his banking empire into the region. Besides growing the United Overseas Bank (UOB), he bought two banks in Thailand, two in Indonesia and one in the Philippines. In addition, the UOB Group has incorporated banks in Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as branches in Brunei and Myanmar. Today, UOB Group has 500 offices and branches worldwide, of which more than 90 per cent are based in ASEAN. The ASEAN Business Awards Legacy Award recognises iconic entrepreneurs who have passionately committed themselves to growth, development and excellence in their countries’ economies while significantly contributing positive impact to the ASEAN Community. These entrepreneurs set the standard of excellence in doing business through the test of time, surpassing challenges and inspiring others towards success, sustainability and shared prosperity. This is the first time the Legacy Award is being given out at the ASEAN Business Awards, which is organised by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of ASEAN.

Nearly Half of Asia Pacific Manufacturers to Have Smart Factories by 2022
Zebra Technologies Corporation the market leader in mobile computers, scanners, and barcode printers today released the results of Zebra’s 2017 Asia Pacific Manufacturing Vision Study, a body of research analyzing the emerging trends shaping the future of industrial manufacturing. The regional study discovered that the number of manufacturers supporting a fully connected factory would nearly triple by 2022. This means 46 percent anticipate having the capability in five years’ time. Manufacturers will continue to adopt Industry 4.0 and the smart factory. Workers will use a combination of radio frequency identification (RFID), wearable technologies, automated systems and other emerging technologies to monitor the physical processes of the plant and enable companies to make decentralized decisions. APAC manufacturers will lead the way globally, with 77 percent of respondents expecting to collect data from production, supply chain, and workers in a holistic manner by 2020, compared to 46 percent doing so today.

The study also revealed that executives across APAC cited achieving quality assurance as their top priority over the next five years. Forward-looking manufacturers are embracing a quality-minded philosophy to drive growth, throughput and profitability. In a sign that improvements made by both suppliers and manufacturers will ultimately boost the quality of finished goods, fewer respondents say quality-related issues will be a top concern in the future. Today, 55 percent of manufacturers see quality as a top concern, but this falls to 35 percent in 2022. Forty-two percent of the manufacturers expect investments in visibility technology to spur growth. Fifty-five percent will implement real-time location systems (RTLS) and 48 percent plan to use RFID by 2022, providing the much-needed transparency across their operations. By 2022, 44 percent of manufacturers expect to enable Just-In-Time (JIT) notifications for their customers. The request will increasingly come from the high-tech (48 percent), pharmaceutical (40 percent), automotive (35 percent), and food & beverage (36 percent) industries.